Printed Guns That Kill —

Japanese man arrested for producing 3D-printed guns

Japanese authorities arrested a 27-year-old man Thursday for allegedly possessing 3D-printed handguns, some of which had the capability of firing and killing.

Local media ANN News (via Kotaku, original here) said the authorities found as many as five handguns made of plastic at the home of the suspect, Yoshitomo Imura, who lives south of Tokyo. The guns were yellow, blue, and white plastic according to images from the report. Kanagawa Prefectural Police also discovered blueprints downloaded from the Internet for producing the weapons, ANN News reported.

"I made the guns by the 3D printer at home. I did not think it was illegal," the suspect was quoted as saying. The suspect later said on Twitter that "[g]un restrictions are a violation of human rights." The rate of Japanese gun violence is among the lowest in industrialized nations. Guns are not illegal in the country, but buyers face several background checks and other impediments.

One of the first 3D-printed handguns, the "Liberator" pistol, was licensed last year from Austin-based Defense Distributed.

David Kravets
The senior editor for Ars Technica. Founder of TYDN fake news site. Technologist. Political scientist. Humorist. Dad of two boys. Been doing journalism for so long I remember manual typewriters with real paper. Emaildavid.kravets@arstechnica.com//Twitter@dmkravets